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STRONG IN THE STORM

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“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27

Strong, steady, and stable are three words that would have never described me several years ago. Oh, I believed in God and I believed He could answer prayer…it just seemed like He’d answer it for everyone else but me. An old weathered ship tossed back and forth like a battering ram against the dock I was tied to, deep were my scars. Up and down, in and out as fast as the waves rolled was the pace at which I lost my faith in God’s ability to save me from the storm.

Faith, it’s impossible to please God without it. Faith, there’s no way around it in His Kingdom. It’s the key to everything. Without faith we whine, complain, throw pity parties, and get angry with God but we never really call it what it is….it’s a lack of faith. We doubt God’s goodness in the dark storms of our lives. We don’t see how He could possibly come through. We think we are the only ones going through the storms we face.

What causes waves to stir and crash? What brings a storm? Wind. It’s gusts of wind that blow down against calm waters and cause billows of waves to rise. In Mark 4, Jesus tells the disciples to go across the sea to the other side. But while Jesus was asleep on a pillow, a great and mighty storm arose. It was thrashing the boat around and filling it up with water. Now the disciples were experienced fishermen, they knew a bad storm when they saw one. And this was a bad one. It was so bad that they ran down to get Jesus, to ask Him whether or not He cared they were perishing. Read what happened next:

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,“Peace, be still!”And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.But He said to them,“Why are you so fearful? Howis itthat you have no faith?”

I want you to see that they were right smack dab in the middle of God’s will and there was a storm! Just because you find yourself in a storm doesn’t mean you’ve missed God. Sometimes it’s exactly where you’re supposed to be. How many times did I think God was asleep on a pillow when I was about to die in my situation? How many times did I think He didn’t care? I had built my house on my circumstances, not on His goodness or His faithfulness. When I felt my life crumbling around me, I went down with it. I let the wave of my emotions batter me against the dock. Weathered, worn, beaten, and bruised when all I had to do is loosen the rope that held me captive. To untie my anchor and let the wind of God carry me where He desired. You see, I wasn’t a worn old ship, but a sailboat meant to be carried by the wind not beaten by it. I was to use the wind to propel me not repel me. Even the darkest of storms have the power to propel us towards our destinies.

So what should the disciples have done in the midst of their storm? Think about it. Put yourself there, in their cold and wet shoes. We know being afraid and asking Jesus if He even cared wasn’t the right answer. But what was? Maybe if they would have said to themselves, “I believe the Master will get us across safely. He’s on-board with us and He’s not going down, neither will we!” Maybe if they would have remembered all the marvelous miracles they had beheld. Don’t you know that it’s in the middle of these storms we see God rescue us miraculously? It’s here where we see Him walk on water and calm the winds. It’s here, where our faith grows. And it’s that faith that makes us strong in the storm.

God is ready to speak calm to the storms in your mind today! I want you to image yourself in a sailboat on the most beautiful waters you can think of. I want your soul to be flooded with peace in knowing that God is guiding you in your voyage, even in the not-so-great stormy waters. As you listen to the audio track, ask God any question you want to. This is your time with Him. He’s not going to be offended by anything you ask Him. But after you ask Him those hard questions, listen to what He says back. I promise it will calm the storms in your minds and bring peace. I can’t wait to see what He says to you!

Meditate on these passages of scripture this week. Ask God to bury them deep down within your spirits. Read them, write them down, and quote them over yourself until you believe them. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God!